Nesting and stacking storage crate

ABSTRACT

A nesting and stacking storage crate having a bottom, a top rim, a sidewall connecting the bottom and the top rim, and a pair of shelves formed into the sidewall, the shelves adapted to support the bottom of another identical storage crate.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority of Provisional application Ser. No.60/652,710, filed on Feb. 14, 2005.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates to a molded plastic storage crate.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Plastic open-top storage crates find great utility. Many times, suchcrates are used to store toys, crafting supplies, household articles andother irregularly-shaped objects. When crates are filled with objects,the surface is irregular, which makes stacking filled crates one uponanother difficult to accomplish. As a result, the number of crates thatcan be stored in a closet or another area with limited floor space isless than it could be.

Another issue with crates is that retailers desire to display a maximumnumber of crates in a minimal floor or shelf space. It is thusadvantageous to have crates nest one within another.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a storage cratethat nests with other crates when empty, and in which the crates can bestacked one upon another. The nesting is accomplished by making the toprim define an open top that is larger than the bottom of the crate. As aresult, the sidewall is tapered inwardly from top to bottom. This allowsthe crates to be nested one within the other to thereby decrease thestorage space required for multiple crates, a feature useful both forthe retailer and the purchaser. The crates are designed to be stackedone on top of another, even when essentially filled. This isaccomplished by a pair of shelves formed into the sidewalls, near therim. The shelves are sized and spaced so that the bottom of anotheridentical crate can rest on the shelves, with the upper crate spanningthe open top between the shelves and rotated ninety degrees relative tothe crate on which it rests.

In the preferred embodiment, the crate is essentially rectangular, andthe sidewall defines pairs of essentially parallel opposite walls.However, the crate could take other shapes such as oval and stillaccomplish the invention through the combination of spaced shelves andan appropriately-shaped and sized bottom. The crate is preferably madefrom injection-molded plastic.

The shelves are preferably closer to the top rim than they are to thebottom. The shelves are preferably on opposite sides of the crate. Theshelves each preferably comprise a top surface that is generally planar,and may each further comprise an interior lip projecting above the planeof the top surface. The shelves may each further comprise a series ofribs below the top surface.

The top rim and the bottom may be generally rectangular, in which casethe sidewall may comprise four generally planar portions that definefour sides of the rectangle, with the shelves in two opposite sidewallportions. The shelves may extend along most of the length of the twoopposite sidewall portions. The nesting and stacking storage crate mayfurther comprise pillars connecting the top rim and bottom at each ofthe corners of the rectangle. The sidewall between the pillars maycomprise a series of openings.

The nesting and stacking storage crate may further comprise a series ofstandoffs located at spaced locations around and below the rim. Thenesting and stacking storage crate may further comprise carryinghandles. The carrying handles may comprise the undersides of theshelves. The bottom may have opposite sides, and the distance betweenthe shelves may be about the same as the distance between the oppositesides of the bottom.

In a more specific embodiment, the invention features a nesting andstacking storage crate, comprising a generally rectangular bottom, agenerally rectangular top rim that defines an open top, wherein the toprim defines an open top that is larger than the bottom, a sidewallconnecting the bottom and the top rim, the sidewall comprising fourgenerally planar portions that define four sides of the rectangle, and apair of shelves formed into the sidewall on two opposite sidewallportions close to the rim, the shelves spaced from one another about thesame distance as opposite sides of the bottom so that they can supportthe bottom of another identical storage crate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other objects, features and advantages will occur to those skilled inthe art from the following description of the preferred embodiments andthe accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the nestingand stacking storage crate of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the crate of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the crate of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the crate of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of FIG. 5 labeled “B”showing the shelf and handle detail;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged detailed view of a portion of the bottom of thecrate of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of two of the crates of FIG. 1 nestedtogether; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the two crates shown in FIG. 8 stackedone on top of another.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Nesting and stacking storage crate 10 may be made from injection-moldedplastic material such as copolymer-polypropylene. Crate 10 comprisesgenerally rectangular bottom 42, and generally rectangular top rim 40that defines an open top that is larger than bottom 42. The sidewallconnecting the bottom and top comprises inwardly-tapered sidewallportions 43-46. In this preferred embodiment, sidewall portions 43 and44 are essentially planar and parallel, as are sidewall portions 45 and46. However, this is not a limitation of the invention, as will becomeapparent below.

Sidewall portions 43 and 44 define near their tops shelves 12 and 14,respectively. Shelf 14 is shown in detail in FIG. 6 and defines anessentially flat, planar top surface on which one end of bottom 42 ofanother identical crate can rest. Preferably, interior lip 14 a, whichprojects above the plane of the shelf, is included to help seat thebottom of another crate on shelf 14. The bottom can have a small raisedperipheral projection 57 that helps to seat the bottom on the shelves ofthe crate on which it rests, and also in conjunction with lip 14 ainhibit the crate from sliding off of the shelves. Shelf 14 alsoincludes on its bottom side a series of elongated parallel spaced ribs14 b that provide rigidity to the shelf, and also provide better fingergripping; such ribs are not a limitation of the invention.

The crate is designed such that the distance between the shelves isabout the same as the distance between the opposite ends of the bottomof the crate on the sides adjacent to the sides with the shelf. In otherwords, the distance between the outer most section of shelves 12 and 14needs to be at least as great as the distance between the bottom ofsidewall sections 45 and 46. This allows the crates to be stacked in across-wise fashion as shown in FIG. 9. If the crates are square, thenthe stacking direction is irrelevant. As shown in the drawings, theshelves can extend along most of the lengths of the two oppositesidewall portions.

The crate preferably also defines a pair of handles 15 and 13 that areintegrally formed in rim 40, as best shown in FIG. 6. These handles canbe the bottom parts of the shelves.

The crates are also adapted to nest together as shown in FIG. 8. This isaccomplished by a combination of several features. The critical aspectthat accomplishes the nesting is that the sidewall sections are alltapered so that the open top is greater in area than the closed bottom.It is preferable to create a little bit of spacing between the rims ofstacked crates so that it is easier for a user to grasp the top crateand lift it from a stack of crates. This can be accomplished by one ormore of the handles and/or upper standoffs that can be molded just belowthe lip. As shown in FIG. 8, handles 13 and 15 rest on top of oneanother. The rims of adjacent nested crates are thus spaced from oneanother by the height of the handles. Alternatively or additionally, thenested crates can be separated and supported by a series of moldedstandoffs such as standoffs 18 and 20 that are just below the lip,preferably at or near the corners of the crate. Lower indentations atthe four bottom corners (indentations 30 and 32 shown in FIGS. 3 and 7)can accept caster-type wheels (not shown) so that the crate can bewheeled by the user.

Solid corner pillars such as pillars 22 and 24 are another optionalfeature of the invention. These provide some strength and rigidity inthe case of the preferred embodiment in which the remaining portions ofthe sidewall has a series of through holes that provide both visibilityand ventilation. The solid pillars in this case provide the strengthnecessary to allow the vertical stacking of two or more crates.

Although specific features of the invention are shown in some drawingsand not others, this is for convenience only as some feature may becombined with any or all of the other features in accordance with theinvention.

Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are withinthe following claims.

1. A nesting and stacking storage crate, comprising: a bottom; a top rimthat defines an open top; a sidewall connecting the bottom and the toprim; and a pair of shelves formed into the sidewall, the shelves adaptedto support the bottom of another identical storage crate.
 2. The nestingand stacking storage crate of claim 1 wherein the top rim defines anopen top that is larger than the bottom.
 3. The nesting and stackingstorage crate of claim 1 wherein the shelves are closer to the top rimthan they are to the bottom.
 4. The nesting and stacking storage crateof claim 1 wherein the shelves are on opposite sides of the crate. 5.The nesting and stacking storage crate of claim 4 wherein the shelveseach comprise a top surface that is generally planar.
 6. The nesting andstacking storage crate of claim 5 wherein the shelves each furthercomprise an interior lip projecting above the plane of the top surface.7. The nesting and stacking storage crate of claim 5 wherein the shelveseach further comprise a series of ribs below the top surface.
 8. Thenesting and stacking storage crate of claim 1 wherein the top rim andthe bottom are generally rectangular.
 9. The nesting and stackingstorage crate of claim 8 wherein the sidewall comprises four generallyplanar portions that define four sides of the rectangle.
 10. The nestingand stacking storage crate of claim 9 wherein the shelves are in twoopposite sidewall portions.
 11. The nesting and stacking storage crateof claim 10 wherein the shelves extend along most of the length of thetwo opposite sidewall portions.
 12. The nesting and stacking storagecrate of claim 9 further comprising pillars connecting the top rim andbottom at each of the corners of the rectangle.
 13. The nesting andstacking storage crate of claim 12 wherein the sidewall between thepillars comprise a series of openings.
 14. The nesting and stackingstorage crate of claim 1 further comprising a series of standoffslocated at spaced locations around and below the rim.
 15. The nestingand stacking storage crate of claim 1 further comprising carryinghandles.
 16. The nesting and stacking storage crate of claim 15 whereinthe carrying handles comprise the shelves.
 17. The nesting and stackingstorage crate of claim 1 wherein the bottom has opposite sides, and thedistance between the shelves is about the same as the distance betweenthe opposite sides of the bottom.
 18. A nesting and stacking storagecrate, comprising: a generally rectangular bottom; a generallyrectangular top rim that defines an open top, wherein the top rimdefines an open top that is larger than the bottom; a sidewallconnecting the bottom and the top rim, the sidewall comprising fourgenerally planar portions that define four sides of the rectangle; and apair of shelves formed into the sidewall on two opposite sidewallportions close to the rim, the shelves spaced from one another about thesame distance as opposite sides of the bottom so that they can supportthe bottom of a second identical storage crate that is rotated ninetydegrees relative to the first crate.